Started BJJ tonight

So I had my first BJJ class tonight and I really enjoyed it. I mean, you can't get around feeling awkward as you flop around the mat like a Magikarp trying to use splash in an attempt to roll, but I realize that's universal to new white belts so I didn't falter.

I felt pretty out of my element trying to shrimp down the mat, but I think I got it down now after coming home and watching some more YouTube videos and practicing.

The instructor is really cool, and the higher belts are patient and good teachers. Everyone was friendly and I will definitely be going regularly.

As someone with no wrestling or grappling background, I have a big learning curve to overcome, but I'm determined.

Isn't Oklahoma like one of THE strongest wrestling states in the country? Why play that pretend martial arts shit instead of the real thing? Is it because the "rules" are a lot looser so you can do stuff like choke and kick people, & try to break their arm or shatter their ankle? "Wow, I strangled a dude and didn't get penalized for it, this sport's awesome!" Yeah right! That's really bad-ass, bro. How long before you get a tattoo on your face to really earn your BJJ street cred? Do you have to injure people to feel validated? OK...

Honestly I don't mean to be such a hater. But these junk sports are ways for non-athletic people to become better bullies when you get right down to it. They give you "gi" and color-coded belts to front as legit. Ha. There's almost nothing "jiu jitsu" about BJJ and the "Brazilian" part is just made up. Respect yourself, and thousands of years of martial arts and wrestling tradition, and consider taking up something else.

BUT...if you're into it and it makes you happy...AND you go against the typical and show class and don't do sadistic shit just because you can...I've got your back against the haters then. All else aside you're taking up a combative art, & from my experience that can make you a far better person. The odds of that are shorter in the legit disciplines, though.

If it hadn't been for wrestling, even though I only "competed" in a backyard fed & never had a team to join, I don't know where I'd be today. Not a Dean's List student with a supervisory job on the side, that's for sure. The toughness and endurance I've picked up from working out with real wrestlers keep me sane dealing with born-again parents who would disown me in a heartbeat if they knew I'm gay. It keeps me on the right track & from getting discouraged. Without it I'd probably be just another hustler on meth in a trailer park. As far as BJJ is concerned, if I'd taken it up I'd probably be in jail for domestic violence or random assault or something like that by now. There's no honor or ethics in fabricated "martial arts," no value system to go along with the sport and discipline the practitioner.

And, homophobic much? (Not that wrestling is much better until people get in good with you - then they're the awesomest allies in the world.) Maybe somebody who endlessly sucks up to straight bros and self-hates for being gay would feel right at home. In which case I wasted a lot of time responding to the OP because that's totally how he rolls through life. According to his pages on this site & Instagram anyways.

I have no idea who you are. I stopped viewing your post as credible the second you called BJJ a 'pretend martial art'. We aren't learning to break boards in the gym where I train, we're learning to break limbs. It's called "self-defense" for a reason.

I don't think you even know where you stand on this issue because you go from talking shit about BJJ in one paragraph, to commending it in the next, to implying I'm a self-loathing homophobe in the last. Are you drunk?

It isn't up to the martial art to bestow 'ethics' upon an adult. Those should have been learned at home. Just because I know how to do a triangle or ankle lock, doesn't mean I'm going to go around needlessly assaulting people. If learning a combative sport turns you into a psychopathic abuser, then chances are you already were but didn't have a way to act on it.

Avsigkommen saidI have no idea who you are. I stopped viewing your post as credible the second you called BJJ a 'pretend martial art'. We aren't learning to break boards in the gym where I train, we're learning to break limbs. It's called "self-defense" for a reason.

I don't think you even know where you stand on this issue because you go from talking shit about BJJ in one paragraph, to commending it in the next, to implying I'm a self-loathing homophobe in the last. Are you drunk?

It isn't up to the martial art to bestow 'ethics' upon an adult. Those should have been learned at home. Just because I know how to do a triangle or ankle lock, doesn't mean I'm going to go around needlessly assaulting people. If learning a combative sport turns you into a psychopathic abuser, then chances are you already were but didn't have a way to act on it.

Avsigkommen saidI have no idea who you are. I stopped viewing your post as credible the second you called BJJ a 'pretend martial art'. We aren't learning to break boards in the gym where I train, we're learning to break limbs. It's called "self-defense" for a reason.

I don't think you even know where you stand on this issue because you go from talking shit about BJJ in one paragraph, to commending it in the next, to implying I'm a self-loathing homophobe in the last. Are you drunk?

It isn't up to the martial art to bestow 'ethics' upon an adult. Those should have been learned at home. Just because I know how to do a triangle or ankle lock, doesn't mean I'm going to go around needlessly assaulting people. If learning a combative sport turns you into a psychopathic abuser, then chances are you already were but didn't have a way to act on it.

Maybe he's projecting?

Must be. He sent some deranged PM but I blocked him so who knows what else has/had to say.

It's awkward for most people. Just keep practicing. You'll be shrimping a lot, so it never hurts to drill it on your own time.

Most people in the BJJ world are kind, generous, and patient. Your team wants you to succeed.

I didn't have a background in grappling, as well, when I started, but I trained regularly, which I still do, and I got proficient in it. It's hard work, but rewarding. If you want to talk about technique or any bjj related stuff, send me a PM. I love talking about jitz with others.

Avsigkommen saidSo I had my first BJJ class tonight and I really enjoyed it. I mean, you can't get around feeling awkward as you flop around the mat like a Magikarp trying to use splash in an attempt to roll, but I realize that's universal to new white belts so I didn't falter.

I felt pretty out of my element trying to shrimp down the mat, but I think I got it down now after coming home and watching some more YouTube videos and practicing.

The instructor is really cool, and the higher belts are patient and good teachers. Everyone was friendly and I will definitely be going regularly.

As someone with no wrestling or grappling background, I have a big learning curve to overcome, but I'm determined.

Good on you for taking the plunge! I also came from no grappling or Judo background last February. The learning curve sucks and I almost quit before getting my first stripe out of sheer frustration. But...I kept with it. I bugged the hell out of higher belts and my coach. I read things like Jiu Jitsu University and some magazines. And just over a year later, got a blue belt.

Jiu Jitsu is amazingly rewarding and I hope your journey is awesome. All the best

Isn't Oklahoma like one of THE strongest wrestling states in the country? Why play that pretend martial arts shit instead of the real thing? Is it because the "rules" are a lot looser so you can do stuff like choke and kick people, & try to break their arm or shatter their ankle? "Wow, I strangled a dude and didn't get penalized for it, this sport's awesome!" Yeah right! That's really bad-ass, bro. How long before you get a tattoo on your face to really earn your BJJ street cred? Do you have to injure people to feel validated? OK...

Honestly I don't mean to be such a hater. But these junk sports are ways for non-athletic people to become better bullies when you get right down to it. They give you "gi" and color-coded belts to front as legit. Ha. There's almost nothing "jiu jitsu" about BJJ and the "Brazilian" part is just made up. Respect yourself, and thousands of years of martial arts and wrestling tradition, and consider taking up something else.

BUT...if you're into it and it makes you happy...AND you go against the typical and show class and don't do sadistic shit just because you can...I've got your back against the haters then. All else aside you're taking up a combative art, & from my experience that can make you a far better person. The odds of that are shorter in the legit disciplines, though.

If it hadn't been for wrestling, even though I only "competed" in a backyard fed & never had a team to join, I don't know where I'd be today. Not a Dean's List student with a supervisory job on the side, that's for sure. The toughness and endurance I've picked up from working out with real wrestlers keep me sane dealing with born-again parents who would disown me in a heartbeat if they knew I'm gay. It keeps me on the right track & from getting discouraged. Without it I'd probably be just another hustler on meth in a trailer park. As far as BJJ is concerned, if I'd taken it up I'd probably be in jail for domestic violence or random assault or something like that by now. There's no honor or ethics in fabricated "martial arts," no value system to go along with the sport and discipline the practitioner.

And, homophobic much? (Not that wrestling is much better until people get in good with you - then they're the awesomest allies in the world.) Maybe somebody who endlessly sucks up to straight bros and self-hates for being gay would feel right at home. In which case I wasted a lot of time responding to the OP because that's totally how he rolls through life. According to his pages on this site & Instagram anyways.

Who the fuck is this?

Wrestling is not a real martial art. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is. It's been around for a while now, man. It's a self-defense art that has just been assumed into western culture because MMA fighters use it often. It has its roots, and it a versatile fighting style. It covers everything wrestling does, improves upon it and adds more to it.

You are one ignorant mofo, man. It seems that during your BACKYARD wrestling stint, you got yourself too tied up in knots and got your head stuck up your butt.

That being said, God I fucking hate jiu jitsu or any grappling martial art. I'm not denying it its status or respect as a combat style but freaking hell its uncomfortable and . . . yuck.